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In Bed with an Elephant

1986 59 min
Coming soon

This feature documentary provides a gripping retrospective of United States-Canada relationships through a study of successive presidents and prime ministers. Using archival film footage, it demonstrates that Canadian prime ministers, from John A. Macdonald down, all began their tenures by making overtures to their American counterparts. Attitudes and outcomes have varied widely. The almost comic antipathy between Kennedy and Diefenbaker, for instance, is as palpable here as is the folksy camaraderie of Reagan and Mulroney. Part four of Reckoning: The Political Economy of Canada series.

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In Bed with an Elephant
  • Reckoning: The Political Economy of Canada
    Since 1982, when the issue of free trade with the United States was resurrected, dusted off and presented anew to Canadians, we have been buffetted by dissenting viewpoints on this contentious and crucial question. Can Canada stand alone and hold its own in the economically turbulent late 20th century? Should it even try? A major gap in the debate so far has been a comprehensive context in which the average Canadian could place the matter at hand. This series attempts to fill that gap. It clarifies not only Canada's economic position in relation to its closest neighbor, but also the United States' economic standing in the world. In the process, Reckoning clearly shows Canada's current position in the global economicy and where, perhaps, it should be heading.

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This feature documentary provides a gripping retrospective of United States-Canada relationships through a study of successive presidents and prime ministers. Using archival film footage, it demonstrates that Canadian prime ministers, from John A. Macdonald down, all began their tenures by making overtures to their American counterparts. Attitudes and outcomes have varied widely. The almost comic antipathy between Kennedy and Diefenbaker, for instance, is as palpable here as is the folksy camaraderie of Reagan and Mulroney. Part four of Reckoning: The Political Economy of Canada series.

  • host
    James Laxer
  • writer
    Kent Martin
    James Laxer
  • editing
    Ian Rankin
  • photography
    Mike Mahoney
  • additional photography
    Kent Nason
    Geoff Rogers
  • sound
    Alex Salter
    Arthur McKay
    John Martin
    Kalle Lasn
  • assistant camera
    Dominique Gusset
    Simon Leblanc
  • location manager
    Erna Buffie
  • assistant editor
    Vida Urbonavicius
  • series title sequence
    Svend-Erik Eriksen
  • original music
    Eric Lemoyne
    Roger Lemoyne
  • music recording
    Louis Hone
  • music editor
    Roger Lemoyne
  • research
    Erna Buffie
    Kent Martin
  • sound editing
    Alex Salter
    Les Halman
  • re-recording
    Hans Peter Strobl
    Adrian Croll
  • unit manager
    Diane Bergeron
    Bruce Hagerman
  • post-production coordinator
    Richard Michaud
  • associate producer
    Erna Buffie
  • producer
    Kent Martin
  • director
    Kent Martin
  • executive producer
    John Taylor

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In Bed with an Elephant
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